Installing Cisco Configuration Professional (CCP)

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The Cisco Configuration Professional (CCP) application is a GUI based management tool for the Integrated Service Routers (ISR); it takes the place of the former Security Device Manager (SDM) application that existed on previous iterations of the Cisco router product lines. It makes the configuration and troubleshooting of an ISR easier for those not familiar and/or comfortable with the Cisco IOS CLI.

Let's install CCP using a Windows-based operating system and the following steps.

The first thing you must do is download a copy of CCP from the Cisco website (CCO login required). Make sure to download CCP and not CCP express; CCP express offers a limited set of options compared to CCP, and installs on the ISR device itself.

Installing CCP

As shown in Figure 1, the filename for CCP begins with cisco-config-pro-k9-pkg and a specific version number; as of this writing the most up to date version of CCP is 2.6 but this will obviously change over time.

Figure 1

Once you download CCP to the local machine, to begin installation just double-click or press enter while the file is selected. Once done, the installer will launch and eventually bring up a window that looks like Figure 2.

Simply click 'Next' to begin.

Figure 2

The next window will prompt the EULA for CCP (Figure 3). Take a glance at it and click to accept the terms of the license.

Figure 3

The next window will bring up the installation location option (Figure 4). By default CCP installs in the 'Cisco Systems' folder under 'Program Files' (or Program Files (x86)); either use the default or click 'change' to change it to meet the specific requirements for the local machine and click ‘Next'.

Figure 4

Once at the next window (shown in Figure 5) simply click the ‘Install' button to begin installation.

Figure 5

The installation will now progress, once it is complete the windows shown in Figure 6 will display; from this window select whether an icon for CCP should be installed on the desktop and click 'Next'.

Figure 6

The installer will then run a quick check of the requirements to run CCP. Once this is done it will display the results as shown in Figure 7; make sure that these requirements are met before running CCP. Once the requirement results have been read, click 'Next'.

Figure 7

And finally CCP installation is complete as shown in Figure 8. If all the requirements for the running of CCP are met, then it is now possible to run CCP directly from the installer by clicking the 'Run Cisco Configuration Professional' check box. Select the appropriate options and click ‘Finish'.

Figure 8

Getting started with Cisco CCP

Before going any further with the CCP GUI, the device being managed must be configured with a few commands from the Cisco IOS CLI.

If the device has already been configured at the CLI then CCP can launch immediately. During the first launch a Windows Security Alert may display asking if it should add an exception to the Windows firewall (Figure 10). Choose the appropriate options for your environment.

Figure 10

As it's launching, Java may prompt with a warning asking if the CCP application is allowed to run (Figure 11); click 'Run' to continue.

Figure 11

Now the 'Manage Community' window will display as shown in Figure 12, it is at this point where the target devices to be managed are entered with their IP address/Hostname and Username/Password credentials. If the secure options were used when configuring the device's initial configuration through the CLI then don't select the 'Connect Securely' checkbox; if the secure options were used then select the 'Connect Securely' checkbox. When all the devices intended to be managed are entered click 'OK'.

Figure 12

The next step requires a discovery process. During this process, CCP will interrogate the devices and makes sure the device is accessible and supported. Select all the devices listed and click 'Discover'.

Figure 13

If the secure methods were used a Security Certificate Alert will be prompt; this is because by default a self-signed certificate is created on the device and must be allowed by the local managing device (the computer running this installation).

Figure 14

Should there be a problem with the discovery process, you may see a 'Discovery failed' message. If this happens, check to make sure that all the required Cisco IOS CLI configuration steps. There is also a 'Discovery Details' button which you can click to check specific problems reported.

Figure 15

If all goes well a 'Discovered' status will be given. Once this occurs a specific device can be selected from the 'Select Community Member' in the upper Left of the window.

Figure 16

Once a member is selected the Configure and Monitor options shown in the top left will also now be accessible. Figure 17 shows some of the menu options enabled when the Configure option is selected.

Figure 17

From this point the user is able to configure whatever options are supported by the device and the supported license package.

Not too complicated

The CCP installation is not overly complex and can be easily completed by even the most novice Windows and/or Cisco user. Hopefully this article's walkthrough will make the process easier to follow and get CCP up and running so that your equipment runs as fast as possible.

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Contributor

Sean Wilkins

Sean Wilkins is an accomplished networking consultant who has been in the IT field for more than 20 years, working with several large enterprises. He is a writer for infoDispersion and his educational accomplishments include: a Master’s of Science in Information Technology with a focus in Network Architecture and Design, and a Master’s of Science in Organizational Management. Sean holds certifications with Cisco (CCNP/CCDP), Microsoft (MCSE) and CompTIA (A+ and Network+).